More Than Anyone We Were Heroes
by EraserKitty
Summary: Just a super mini one-shot I wrote about the events that take place after chapter 255. MAJOR MANGA SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU AREN'T CAUGHT UP YET. Aizawa/Yamada-centric, not ship.


IF YOU ARE NOT CAUGHT UP TO  
**CHAPTER 65** IN MY HERO ACADEMIA VIGILANTES  
**OR **  
**CHAPTER 255** IN THE MY HERO ACADEMIA MANGA,  
THERE WILL BE SPOILERS AHEAD!

I can't stop thinking about this newest arc in MHA right now. After reading Vigilantes, Shirakumo very quickly became one of my all-time favorite characters in the MHA-universe, and I've wanted to write something about him for quite a few weeks. When the Aizawa/Shirakumo arc in Vigilantes made its way into the main manga series, I just about lost it. After reading these last two chapters, I can't get this arc out of my head. While waiting (very impatiently) for chapter 255, this idea came to mind and I decided to write it after reading this newest chapter. So, this is basically just a brief conversation between Aizawa and Mic right after learning the truth about Shirakumo. I hope you enjoy.

* * *

The Erasure Hero stands over a sink in the men's bathroom, trying to compose himself. Ice cold water rushes out of the faucet, and he cups his hands under it before splashing his face over and over again. His boisterous friend stands nearby, not at all upbeat like usual. Instead, he stands in stoic silence as his best friend is all but breaking down in front of him.

It wasn't real. It couldn't be. Their best friend who lost his life while training to be a hero… to find out that his body was experimented on and turned into the villain known as Kurogiri… It was unthinkable. As far as they knew, Shirakumo Oboro was dead, and would never be coming back.

But he called out to them… didn't he?

Aizawa turns the faucet off and exhales deeply.

"Are you okay?" Mic asks, handing him a washcloth. Aizawa takes the cloth from him and starts rubbing his face, making sure to carefully pat his eyes dry.

"This feels like… some kind of bad dream." Aizawa says, placing both hands on either edge of the sink and looking down at his feet.

"Tell me about it. The last fifteen years have felt like a bad dream that I can't seem to wake up from."

They stand silent for a moment until Aizawa speaks up. "That was him… Right?" He asks, meekly.

"Aizawa…"

"He was right there." Aizawa stands up straight and looks to Mic. "He looked like he wanted to say something."

"I dunno, man. Maybe we just wanna believe he's in there so badly… It's possible we both imagined the same thing."

Before Aizawa can respond, he notices he has a text. "Tsukauchi's saying he wants to end things for today. I need to get back to my students." He puts his phone back in his pocket and heads for the door.

"You sure, man? Any one of the other teachers can cover for you." Mic says, following after him.

_"You'd be pretty good working with kids. Like at a day care, or as a schoolteacher." _The voice of his late friend rings through Aizawa's head.

_"Me? No. You, maybe. What could children possibly like about me?"_

_"It's cuz you're so observant that you overthink stuff. Like, you psych yourself out and convince yourself you can't. But you could do just about anything if you put your mind to it."_

_"Anything…? Like run a daycare? Or be a teacher?"_

_"Yep. Exactly."_

_"Try thinking before you speak."_

_"Naw, I'm serious."_

"No. That's exactly where I need to be right now." Aizawa pauses and looks up for a moment. "It's not rational at all, but…" He looks back to Mic. "I want to believe in him. I want to believe he heard us. That he's calling for our help. I saw his face." He says assuredly. "There's no way I imagined that."

"Look… Aizawa. I know how hard you took Shirakumo's death. And I know you're still carrying that day with you. But you need to let go of that guilt you're feeling. He wouldn't want that for you, and you know it. I'm sure, If he could see us now, he'd be proud of us."

"Proud or not, we were supposed to do this together. Together," He says, firmly. "That was always the plan- to become heroes together. To do it without him… it feels like we betrayed him. I gotta make it up to him. If he's really in there somewhere… then we have to save him, Mic."

Mic sighs deeply and crosses his arm. "When you're right, you're right. But let's get one thing straight, Aizawa… I've always believed in Shirakumo. And I've always believed in you. So, if you think there's even the smallest chance that he's asking for our help… I'm in it with ya until the end." Mic puts a hand on Aizawa's shoulder.

A small, yet confident, smile appears on Aizawa's face. "We'll bring him back."


End file.
